Members of the Miami
University Students for Peace and Justice group traveled to Nicaragua March
11th-20th on a Witness for Peace delegation to learn about United States
foreign policy. While in Managua, the delegation visited a protest camp of
several thousand banana and sugar cane farmers who have been lethally
infected by the chemical Nemagon. Nemagon is a virulent pesticide used in
banana and sugar cane plantations in Central America, the Caribbean, and the
Philippines. Approximately 5000 protesters, who are living in makeshift
tents of black plastic and sticks across the street from the National
Assembly, say that they will not leave until their government has acted
justly by recognizing the horrible conditions in which they've been left to
die, covering their burgeoning medical costs, and discontinuing the use of
all pesticides that contain Nemagon.

The workers asked the
students to take their stories back to the United States because the United
States corporations Dow Chemical, Shell Oil Co. and Standard Fruit Co.
exported and encouraged the use of Nemagon. The protesters claim that over
2000 people have died due to exposure to Nemagon. One worker, Juan Alejandro
Varela Sanchez, said to the Miami students who'd gathered on the night of
Friday the 18th, "And here we stand talking to you and it looks like we're
normal human beings, but we are already dead. Nemagon has already killed our
way of life, our energy, and has left us practically lifeless. That's why
some of us will be burying ourselves."

The students were
shown holes, which line a busy intersection, already dug for this purpose.
In addition, the protesters are threatening to light themselves on fire or
crucify themselves if the Nicaraguan government will not recognize their
demands. Negotiations with the government continued through the weekend, but
the protesters reiterated to the students that if nothing was decided by
Monday, they would act on their threats.

Quotes from the
Protesters

"Our struggle has
actually been going on for over ten years. You haven't heard about it until
now because it's been kept from your ears. Now we're reaching a point in our
struggle where some may be willing to bury themselves in these holes. Some
people have talked about burying themselves with their heads underground and
just their feet sticking out as a final act of protest. Right now we're not
sure exactly what will happen." -- Merlo Antonio Irrutia Silva

"We are not asking you
to give us material aid, but to simply demand what we demand: justice. Tell
people how we have been here protesting four times, each time for several
weeks, each time walking the 150 kilometers from Chinandega while some of us
die along the way from the venom creeping inside us. Tell them that many of
us left our children behind in a deformed state thanks to Nemagon. When you
go back, tell them that we will not tolerate that our government erase the
law that is on the books to protect us allowing us to sue the companies that
poisoned us. Spread this message not just to the United States but the whole
world because this is a world- wide epidemic that affects much more than
just Nicaragua." --Juan Alejandro Varela Sanchez

The History

Nemagon was employed
extensively in the banana-growing department of Chinandega, Nicaragua

Nemagon, derived from
dibromochloropropane (DBCP), kills a microscopic worm which inhibits the
production and damages the appearance of the bananas

Though banned in the
U.S. since 1979, Nemagon was exported throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s to
other countries

Dow Chemical and Shell
Chemical, two of the major producers of Nemagon, exported up to 24 million
pounds a year during this period

Standard Fruit (owned
by Dole), Del Monte, and United Fruit (now Chiquita) are some of the
companies that sprayed Nemagon on their crops

As a result it is
estimated that 22,000 Nicaraguans are afflicted with Nemagon-caused diseases
and disability

The Effects

The wide variety of
Nemagon-caused symptoms have been attributed to the fact that DBCP targets
the endocrine system

The Case

The Association of
Workers, and Former Workers with Claims against Nemagon (ASOTRAEXDAN) has
been organized, headed by one of the victims, Victorino Espinales

ASOTRAEXDAN has led
the banana worker's struggle by convening assemblies, conducting medical
exams on past & present workers, operating a radio program, organizing
public protests, and filing legal suits on behalf of the plaintiffs

On January 17th, 2001,
due to these efforts, the Nicaraguan National Assembly passed Law 364, which
lays the legal groundwork upon which farmworkers can sue the corporations

Three U.S.
corporations have been found liable under Law 364 in a Nicaraguan court;
Dole, Dow, and Shell have been ordered to pay US$490 million to Nemagon
victimsEach of these companies has denied the legality of the case on
fallacious grounds, calling for a new trial in the U.S. Statistics taken
from nicanet.org (www.nicanet.org/labor/nemegon-follow-up.php)

* This press release
was prepared with the help of Ryan J. Miller, a student at Miami University
of Ohio. He is a member of MU students for Peace and Justice, and MU Fair
labor Coalition (a local branch of United Students Against Sweatshops). He
can be reached at
millerrj@muohio.edu.